A court in Hong Kong adjourned a national security trial hearing of media mogul Jimmy Lai on Friday due to concerns about his health after his defense said he had been experiencing heart palpitations.
Lai, a pro-democracy firebrand and founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily, showed up in court visibly thinner on Friday morning for the start of closing arguments of his landmark national security case.
The 77-year-old has spent more than 1,600 days in a maximum-security Hong Kong prison, much of it in solitary confinement, staring down the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars if convicted.
Friday’s hearing, which was already delayed on Thursday due to a major rainstorm, lasted roughly 15 minutes after the court heard about Lai’s health conditions from his defense team.
Lai’s defense lawyer Robert Pang SC told the judges that Lai had “some episodes that he felt he was collapsing” and had been experiencing palpitations.
